Saturday, April 2, 2011

The Moon and Saturn

Hopefully we'll get some much needed rain in the next few days, after that be sure to check out the sky show!

Look for the new moon this Monday night around as soon as it gets dark around 7:15. The moon will be hard to see as it will be low (less than 10 degree) and set by 7:49. Also the weather is going to be iffy with possible clouds and rain.

If you miss it Monday night, it should put on a nice show as it passes the Pleiades and Hyades on the next few nights. The picture below from Sky & Tel shows the sky as it will look in N America. For Israel the moon will be higher each night, about halfway between the moons in the picture.

,

Now that Jupiter has set in the west Saturn is talking over the show in the east. Saturn comes to opposition this week. That means it is opposite the Sun in our sky, rising at sunset, highest at midnight in the south and setting at sunrise. It is also means Saturn is now closest to the earth, making it the biggest and brightest of the year. By 9pm Saturn is high enough for you take out your scopes and get a good view.